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Coming off a 7-2 drubbing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins and knowing the Philadelphia Flyers had already won, the Detroit Red Wings were desperately trying to hang on.
Their 3-0 lead evaporated down to a 3-2 advantage, the Wings managed to fend off the Buffalo Sabres and maintain that edge for a much-needed victory Monday at Joe Louis Arena, keeping pace with the Flyers for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
I thought we were good for large parts … obviously, until the very end there,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “I thought we played a good game. We didn’t give them much, didn’t give up many shots, didn’t give up a whole lot of chances.
“Obviously there’s still corrections we can make with some mistakes. Overall I thought it was good.”
In this instance, Blashill went against his usual policy and opted to put the emphasis on the big picture.
“When the team pulls their goalie there’s going to be some stressful moments for sure,” Blashill said. “Obviously, when you’re up 3-0 you don’t want to give one up right away but I’ll focus on the entirety of the 60 minutes and I thought overall it was good.”
Snipe Of Riley
The talk of the Detroit dressing room after the game was the coast-to-coast burst by Riley Sheahan that finished with the Detroit center rifling a shot top corner past Sabres goalie Chad Johnson to make it 2-0.
“It was a beautiful goal, probably one of the nicest we’ve had as a team this year,” Detroit forward Dylan Larkin said. “It was good to see the patience he had and see him let go of his great shot. He’s got a real heavy shot.
“It was a sweet goal.”
Sheahan indicated that he saw an opening and simply sought to exploit that rarity it today’s NHL, open ice to skate the puck.
“I just tried to get up ice and I saw a little bit of room to skate,” Sheahan explained. “I kind of just kept going and kept going and made my way through there.
“I didn’t really mean to do that or have that in mind but I had some room and I got a good shot off so it was good.”
Blashill might have been the only one who didn’t admire the play.
“To be honest with you I was yelling ‘Get it deep!’” Blashill admitted.
Luke Shot Blocker
Being deliberately struck by the puck is Luke Glendening’s forte, but the Detroit forward took his shot-blocking prowess to a new level Monday, getting in the way of a career-high five shots.
“I don’t know,” Glendening said of his new personal best. “I haven’t really paid attention to how many, but there were a few tonight.”
And he had the bruises to show for it, as well as the ice packs at the ready.
Glendening may not count his shot blocks – he leads all Detroit forwards with 63, by the way – but his teammates always know that they can count on Glendening.
“That’s Glenny for you in a nutshell,” Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard said. “He gives up his body every single night for his teammates. He gets pretty banged up over the course of a season blocking so many shots.
“You need those guys in your lineup willing to do that. But it wasn’t just him tonight. A lot of guys stepped up in that aspect.”
Glendening’s empty-net goal also stood up as the eventual game winner.
Howe Endearing
Prior to the game, Detroit rookie Larkin, who would open the scoring for the Red Wings, got his photo taken with Wings legend Gordie Howe, who was at the game and feted with a cake celebrating his 88th birthday, which will arrive Thursday.
“It was really cool,” Larkin said. “Obviously I never got to see him play but I’ve seen pictures and I see all his stats and some clips of him playing.
“It’s really cool to see what he’s done for Detroit and for the Red Wings.”
And not just for the Red Wings. The Sabres were equally excited to catch a glimpse of a hockey legend.
“I've been in this building a large number of times and I can count every time I know that Gordie Howe was in the building,” Buffalo coach Dan Bylsma said. “We've had five or six guys talk about it in our dressing room that Gordie Howe's going to be here tonight, hoping to see him, hoping to get a picture.
“He just has that special presence about him. You look at the wall here and see a whole string of Hart trophies. He's not a hockey player I saw other than in highlights but he's got to be one of the greats of our game.
“In '14 he was in here, I got a picture with him, got him to sign it. It's in my basement on the wall.”
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